Galapagos Islands

Tom Jackson is a leading natural history writer based in the United Kingdom. As an author and contributor he has worked on more than 60 books. A zoology graduate from the University of Bristol, he has also worked as a zookeeper and in safari parks in Zimbabwe.

• Contents:Introduction In comparison with most oceanic archipelagos, the Galapagos are very young with the largest and youngest islands, Isabela and Fernandina, with less than one million years of existence, and the oldest islands, Española and San Cristóbal, somewhere between three to five million years. The islands are surrounded by the Galapagos Marine Reserve which was created in 1986 (70,000 km2) and extended to its current area (133,000 km2) in 1998, making it one of the largest marine reserves in the world.Sea Floor The archipelago’s geology begins at the sea floor. Three major tectonic plates – Nazca, Cocos and Pacific – meet at the basis of the ocean. The Galapagos Marine Reserve is an underwater wildlife spectacle with abundant life ranging from corals to sharks to penguins to marine mammals – almost 3000 in total. The direct dependence on the sea for much of the island’s wildlife (e.g. seabirds, marine iguanas, sea lions) is abundantly evident and provides an inseparable link between the terrestrial and marine worlds.Geology: the Volcanic Surface The geologically recent volcanic eruptions attest to the fact that the Galapagos Islands are a place born of fire. In the last 200 years, a remarkable 50 plus eruptions have occurred, some threatening the unique flora and fauna, some creating new land (such as the new pahoehoe lava flow on Santiago Island) that was unseen in Darwin's time. See also: Los Tunnels (Isabela) – the island’s volcanic tunnels; collapsed lava tunnels (Santa Cruz). Volcanic peaks include: Cerro Azul and Wolf Volcano.Flora The origin of the flora and fauna of the Galapagos has been of great interest to people ever since the publication of the “Voyage of the Beagle” by Charles Darwin in 1839. The islands constitute an almost unique example of how ecological, evolutionary and biogeographic processes influence the flora and fauna on both specific islands as well as the entire archipelago. The local ecology includes: cactus, the Bursera graveolens (the incensé tree), carob tree, Manchineel (the poison apple tree), chala and yellow cordia, the cat's claw, espuela de gallo. In the humid sector are the Cogojo, Galapagos guava, Cat's claw, Galapagos coffee, passionflower and some types of moss, ferns and fungus.Fauna Darwin’s finches, mockingbirds, land snails, giant tortoises and a number of plant and insect groups represent some of the best examples of adaptive radiation which still continues today. Other unique species include: flightless cormorants, giant tortoises, Galapagos penguins, which live on the colder coasts, Darwin's finches, frigatebirds, albatrosses, gulls, boobies, pelicans and Galápagos hawks. There are approximately over 1,300 total invasive species within the Galapagos Islands consisting of over 500 insects, over 750 plants and over 30 vertebrates. Feral goats introduced by humans to the islands for agricultural reasons had a huge impact on the ecosystem.Human Settlements Airports on two islands (Baltra and San Cristobal) receive traffic from continental Ecuador with another airport on Isabela mostly limited to inter-island traffic. Settlements include: Puerto Villamil; Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz. The Wall of Tears (Spanish: El Muro de las Lágrimas) is a historical site 5 km west of Puerto Villamil on Isabela Island in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. It was constructed between 1945 and 1959 by prisoners in the penal colony on the island. The Post Barrel on Floreana Island, formerly used by sailors to pass messages to any passing ships. Fishing – In 1986 a law was passed to control fishing and over-exploitation of Galapagos marine resources. See; fish market, Puerto Ayora.